PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has named former Rep. Luzviminda Ilagan of the Gabriela Women’s Party-list undersecretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

Ilagan represented Gabriela, a nationwide women’s alliance, in the 14th Congress from 2007 to 2016. She was also one of the founding members of the women’s party, which recently bolted the majority bloc at the House of Representatives.

She served as Davao’s City councilor from 1986 to 1988 and was elected councilor from 1998 to 2001. She worked for the passage of the Davao City Women Development Code during her term. Ilagan was also appointed vice mayor of the city under former president Corazon Aquino.

She was one of the women lawmakers who opposed the hero’s burial for the former president back in 2011 through House Resolution 1297.

Her appointment comes weeks after the Commission on Appointments (CA) rejected the ad interim appointment of Judy Taguiwalo as social welfare secretary.